Sri Lanka: Hard days ahead
in peace talks: Update 45.
by Dr. S. Chandrasekharan
Those watching the developments in Sri Lanka since the cease fire last
year cannot but come to the conclusion that the cease fire will first of
all have to be saved from the trigger happy Sri Lankan Navy and some fool
hardy LTTE cadres.
The sixth round of peace talks took place between 18 and 20 March, at
Hakone in Japan in the presence of the Norwegian facilitator, Deputy
Foreign Minister Vidar Helgessen. The Japanese led by Akashi ( see previous
update) did everything possible behind the scenes to make the talks a
success. There were no surprises in the peace talks and the surprise if
any was that the meeting took place at all when two serious incidents took
place in the intervening period.
The first incident took place barely a day after the first anniversary
of the Cease fire Agreement. There was a stand off between LTTE
fighters and the Sri Lankan security forces both in substantial numbers
near Kuchchaveli town north of Trincomalee. In what was
termed as "Eelam War 4 averted", timely intervention of Sri
Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM) saved the situation. A bus travelling to
Tiriyaya town was stopped by seven LTTE armed cadres for checking. A
detachment of Naval security men nearby surrounded the LTTE cadres and
ordered them to surrender. The LTTE refused and threatened to commit
suicide. More reinforcements of the Navy arrived. Meantime, the LTTE had
also assembled some of its armed cadres with a plan to storm the Naval
positions and rescue the seven LTTE cadres. Members of the Sri Lankan
Monitoring mission arrived in time to release the seven LTTE cadres.
Both sides claim that the area in question was under their control.
This kind of a problem is going to be experienced all over the east. While
in the north the areas under the control of the Sri Lankan security forces
and LTTE are clear and delineated with barricades and check points, in the
east the position is totally different. In Batticola, certain areas like
the Karadiyanaru forests and adjoining places are under full LTTE control
while in the rest particularly in Trincomalee, there are no clear lines of
control. The Monitoring teams have neither the strength nor the time to
determine areas under the control of each side. The best that could be
done is to have a combined team of both the groups and determine at least
the disputed areas that could be "no go places" for both sides.
More importantly, there is a need to curb the over enthusiasm of some
of the people on both sides. The naval detachments on the Sri Lankan side
appear to be itching for a battle. Intercepts of LTTE stations
leaked by the Defence Ministry in Sri Lanka give the impression that some
of the senior LTTE cadres appear to be unwilling to make any compromise in
disputes relating to violations by the Sri Lankan forces. This mind set
has to change. No doubt the Norwegian mission is having a tough time.
The second incident was equally serious and this related to sinking of
a supply ship of LTTE off Mullativu on 10th March. The Sri
Lankan Navy ship SLNS Sayuru (formerly INS Saryu of India) accosted a
tanker M.V. Koimar which according to Sri Lankan sources was 185 nautical
miles off the Mullathivu coast. Since the tanker was said to have not
responded properly the Naval ship chased the tanker and sunk it on
suspicion that it carried arms and ammunition. The Defence ministry
deliberately leaked out to the Press that the tanker was carrying 130 mm
guns for the LTTE.
The economic zone extends up to 200 nautical miles. The sovereignty of
the state extends up to 12 nautical miles with another contiguous zone of
12 nautical miles. Beyond this the state’s jurisdiction is limited.
Some of the claims of the navy appear to be untenable. Firstly a tanker
of the type sunk cannot take the heavy 130 mm guns The Sri Lankan media
itself has questioned this claim and have criticised the Defence ministry
for floating such details without checking up. Second is the claim of the
location of the tanker 185 nautical miles. The Navy had given three
different figures to the monitoring mission while filing the report and to
cover up the possibility of firing at the tanker beyond the economic zone,
the naval sources have claimed that they have a right to chase an enemy
ship beyond 200 nautical miles in "hot pursuit" and sink it!
Third, it was not far from the LTTE base from Mullathivu and at any rate
the Navy cannot intercept a ship in the High seas.
Here again there are built in problems in the demarcation of areas of
control between LTTE and the Sri Lankan security forces. The coast off
Mullathivu has always been under the control of the LTTE with their Chalai
base. More clashes are to be expected if the LTTE continues to replenish
its arms and ammunition from outside.
It looks that LTTE may claim its right to replenish its arms and
ammunition just as it is continuing with its recruitment. The Sri Lankan
Monitoring mission has unwittingly supported the claim of the Sri Lankan
government to maintain the "military balance" in respect of High
Security zones in Jaffna. The LTTE in turn may claim the same right in
import of weaponry. Another interesting piece of information is of an
attempted procurement of sophisticated weapons and communication systems
from Russia. Two LTTE cadres had approached a representative of the
Russian state organisation in Laos in mid February for direct purchase of
the equipment.
Two events relating to cease fire talks are worth noting. The LTTE has
formally agreed to the talks with Muslim representatives of north and east
to discuss their grievances. Though it is seen as a part of the peace
process the LTTE has carefully avoided making the Muslims a
"third party" in the ongoing peace talks with the Sri Lankan
government. The second is the involvement of the Malawatte Mahanayake in
forming a committee to report on the ongoing peace progress. The brief
specifically mentions the following points.
1. Background to the demand for a Federal system of governance
2. Does Sri Lanka have a Federal environment?
3. Political, social and economic implications from an application of
Federal principles on the sovereignty, territorial integrity of Sri
Lanka.
4. Any viable alternative to a Federal system.
The questions posed to the committee are not innocent and it looks that
the idea is to obtain enough ammunition to oppose federalism in any form!
Wickremasinghe will have to worry about the monks too besides the
President.
The Hakone meeting was a tame affair, with both sides taking care not
to wreck the talks. The first day’s meeting on 18th, was
confined to a discussion of the recent incident off Mullathivu and ways to
avoid confrontations and resolve transgressions peacefully. The second day
was taken up in discussing issues relating to rehabilitation and
resettlement and human rights. The third day was taken up in briefly
discussing power sharing and fiscal devolution. These were more in the
nature of discussing the theoretical aspects and not specifically on the
core issues. A copy of the official release of the Royal Norwegian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated 21 March is attached as an appendix.
Appendix
Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
CONSOLIDATION OF CEASEFIRE TOP PRIORITY, SRI LANKA
MONITORING MISSION TO BE STRENGTHENED
PRESS RELEASE
21 March 2003
Sri Lanka Peace Talks – Agreed
Statement on behalf of the Parties 21 March 2003
The Government of Sri
Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held the
sixth session of peace talks at Hakone, Japan from 18 to 21 March 2003.
The parties met amid
growing security concerns following recent incidents on land and at sea.
While they acknowledged that parallel progress is needed in negotiations
on security, economic and political issues, the parties left no doubt that
they must now give top priority to improving the security situation, in
particular at sea. The parties undertook to enforce better compliance with
the Ceasefire Agreement by their personnel.
The Government of Sri
Lanka and the LTTE are deeply concerned about the latest incidents at sea,
including on 10 March. To prevent future incidents at sea that could
threaten the stability of the ceasefire, the parties have agreed to
convene senior naval and political representatives from both sides within
three weeks to work out effective arrangements for the operation of naval
units in keeping with existing treaty obligations. The meeting will be
convened by the Royal Norwegian Government and the Head of the Sri Lanka
Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and will immediately start preparing the meeting
with military leaders on both sides. The parties agreed to instruct their
naval units to exercise restraint, as required by the Ceasefire Agreement,
and to avoid provocative actions in the crucial period prior to the
establishment of appropriate procedures.
In this context, the
parties agreed to strengthen the mandate and capacity of the SLMM to
undertake preventive measures to avoid serious incidents at sea and on
land. As a fundamental precondition for the SLMM to take on a stronger
role, the parties pledged to ensure full compliance with the rulings of
the SLMM, guarantee the security of its personnel in all situations, and
take disciplinary action against anyone endangering the lives of SLMM
personnel.
The parties also agreed to take steps to further strengthen the security
situation on land, including the establishment of procedures with the
cooperation of the SLMM for handling soldiers and cadres apprehended by
the other party.
In their political
discussions, the parties reiterated their commitment to develop a federal
system based on internal self-determination within a united Sri Lanka. As
the point of departure for planning how to give effect to the general
principles of federalism in a final settlement of the ethnic conflict, the
parties discussed the essential elements of fiscal federalism.
The parties discussed
preliminary issues and a framework for political matters and agreed to
expand this into a complete plan at the seventh session of talks. The plan
will outline the next steps to be taken by the parties and the topics that
must be addressed in order to negotiate a federal solution for Sri Lanka.
The parties recognise that a considerable amount of time will be required
to address this wide range of topics, which will include geographical
regions and the division of powers between the center and regions. In this
context, the parties decided to invite the Forum of Federations, a
Canadian-based international organization, to participate as consultants
at the seventh session of talks.
The LTTE reported on the
formation of a Political Affairs Committee consisting of twenty-one
leading members of the organization. This committee will undertake an
intensive study of federalism over the course of the next three months to
build the LTTE’s capacity for political transformation. The committee
will study federal systems in other parts of the world, arrange seminars
for LTTE cadres, consult Tamil parliamentarians and academics and seek
advice from lawyers and constitutional experts, to prepare the ground for
the process of establishing internal self-determination within a united,
federal Sri Lanka.
Following a proposal by
the GOSL to prepare for local government elections in the North and East,
the LTTE will favourably consider supporting the holding of such
elections.
It was agreed that the
rescheduled meeting between the LTTE and the Muslim representatives in
Batticaloa be convened on 27 April 2003. Furthermore, the LTTE and Mr.
Rauf Hakeem agreed to arrange a separate meeting between Muslim leaders
and the leadership of the LTTE in Kilinochchi to discuss political matters
and the participation of a Muslim delegation in negotiations at plenary
sessions.
The parties approved the
proposal submitted by the Sub-Committee on Gender Issues to establish
secretariats in Kilinochchi and Colombo.
Following up on the
discussions in Berlin in February on human rights, the parties asked their
international human rights adviser, Mr. Ian Martin, to develop three
aspects of the proposed roadmap for adoption at the seventh session of
talks:
1) The drafting of a
Declaration of Human Rights and Humanitarian Principles. This would
reflect aspects of fundamental international human rights and humanitarian
standards, which both parties would undertake to ensure are respected in
practice by their personnel, pending the full entrenchment of human rights
standards in the eventual constitutional arrangements and in federal and
local law.
2) The planning of a
programme of human rights training for LTTE cadres and government
officials, police and prison officials, which would contribute to the
respect of these principles in practice, and of human rights education and
awareness for other sections of the population. This programme would
include specialised training offered by UNICEF in relation to the rights
of the child, UNHCR in relation to rights of internally displaced persons
and refugees, and ICRC in relation to international humanitarian law. The
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights would be invited to
coordinate this programme.
3) Proposals for the
strengthening of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka to enable it to
develop the capacity for increasingly effective monitoring throughout the
country. These proposals would involve international advice and assistance
to the HRC from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
and other sources, and close coordination with the roles of UNICEF in
relation to child protection, UNHCR in relation to the protection of
returning internally displaced persons and refugees, and SLMM in relation
to acts against the civilian population.
The parties agreed to hold the seventh session of talks from 29 April to 2
May in Thailand, the eighth session from 12 to 15 June in Japan and the
ninth session from 15 to 18 July in Europe (venue to be determined).
